6 movies to see before the Oscars

Wednesday

Jan 29, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 29, 2014 at 3:06 PM

Clark Leonar

With the Oscars fast approaching (they’re March 2), it’s time for many of us to catch up on some of the year’s best films. I had the chance to do a good bit of that last week. With that in mind, here’s a list of six Oscar-nominated films you should try to find before the awards are handed out (listed in alphabetical order).

“12 Years a Slave” Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender Directed by: Steve McQueen What it’s nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Ejiofor), Best Supporting Actor (Fassbender), Best Supporting Actress (Nyong’o), Costume Design, Best Director (McQueen), Film Editing, Production Design, Best Adapted Screenplay Where to find it: In theaters (Charlotte, specifically) What’s to like: Ejiofor and Nyong’o give two of the year’s strongest performances in this movie based off the true story of Solomon Northup (Ejiofor), a free black man from New York who was sold into slavery. The suffering he and his fellow slaves, one of them played by Nyong’o, endured isn’t sugarcoated at all. Northup’s journey to his rightful freedom was extremely difficult, and all involved make this film shine as clearly one of the year’s best.

“American Hustle” Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner Directed by: David O. Russell What it’s nominated for:Best Picture, Best Actor (Bale), Best Actress (Adams), Best Supporting Actor (Cooper), Best Supporting Actress (Lawrence), Best Director (Russell), Costume Design, Film Editing, Production Design, Best Original Screenplay Where to find it: In theaters What’s to like: It’s a mix of comedy and drama as conman Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and sidekick Sydney Prosser (Adams) are forced to work with an FBI agent to bring down corruption. But who’s playing who in this cleverly funny film? Acting nominations in all four categories are well-deserved, particularly for Adams and Lawrence.

“The Book Thief” Starring: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson Directed by: Brian Percival What it’s nominated for: Best Original Score Where to find it: In theaters (Charlotte, specifically) What’s to like: The poignant film is based off a bestselling book and tells the story of a young girl (Nélisse) in Nazi Germany who loses her brother to illness and then must adjust to living with her adoptive parents. Her passion is stealing books to read to the young Jewish man who takes refuge in their home. Rush and Watson also give touching performances as her new parents. Her courage in the midst of adversity is a beautiful thing to see.

“Captain Phillips” Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman Directed by: Paul Greengrass What it’s nominated for: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Abdi), Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Best Adapted Screenplay Where to find it: On DVD What’s to like: Hanks nails the title role as the desperate ship captain taken hostage by Somali pirates in this based on a true story film. Abdi is stellar as the lead pirate who conveys the desperation that led he and his fellow pirates into such a dangerous, violent lifestyle.

“Dallas Buyers Club” Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée What it’s nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor (McConaughey), Best Supporting Actor (Leto), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Screenplay Where to find it: In theaters (Charlotte, specifically) What’s to like: McConaughey gives an inspired performance as Ron Woodroof, an electrician with a passion for drugs, sex and rodeo. That’s until he is diagnosed with HIV and goes on a mission to find affordable medicine (that hasn’t been approved by the FDA) to help him. Once he does, he tries to share the medicine with others through a “buyers club” with business partner and transgender woman Rayon, a heart-tugging performance by Leto, someone with a much different background but a similar passion for helping those who are sick. They valiantly stand up for making the medicine available despite the FDA’s objections in this film based on a true story.

“Lone Survivor” Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch Directed by: Peter Berg What it’s nominated for: Sound Editing, Sound Mixing Where to find it: In theaters What’s to like: It’s based off the book by Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the title character of the movie. Luttrell is played by Wahlberg in this unflinching portrait of war. It follows the Operation Red Wings mission targeting terrorist leaders, which went terribly wrong. You see the sacrifice and courage of some of the most highly trained fighters in the world.